Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi (born 24 May 1980) is an award-winning Hong Kong-Australian actress and cantopop singer. Currently one of Hong Kong's top actresses, Cheung is considered a "Sing girl"—an actress who first received media attention through starring alongside Stephen Chow, and later went on to her own successful career.[1]

Star, hand prints and autograph of Cecilia Cheung Pak Chi on the Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong.[3]

Her career began in 1998, when she was cast in a television commercial advertising lemon tea. She caught the attention of Stephen Chow after shooting the ad. Later, Cheung made her film debut as a young nightclub hostess in Stephen Chow's King of Comedy (1999).[4]King of Comedy became the highest grossing local film of the year, and shot Cheung to fame in Hong Kong. She then starred in Fly Me to Polaris (1999), which earned her the award for Best Newcomer at the Hong Kong Film Awards.[4][5][6] Cheung also sung the theme song for Fly Me to Polaris, which gained attention among the masses for her singing ability.[7] In the same year, Cheung launched her singing career with her first Cantopop album Any Weather (1999).[2]

Cheung made inroads into the Korean market with Failan (2001) co-starring Choi Min-shik. The film earned her a nomination at the Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress. She then starred in the Chinese comedy film The Lion Roars (2002). Cheung impressed the audiences with her portrayal of the independent and spunky heroine, and won the Most Popular Actress award at the Chinese Film Media Awards.[8]

Cheung was cast in her first television project, where she played the legendary singer Zhou Xuan in The Wandering Songstress (2008). She was reportedly paid 200,000 yuan per episode to film the drama.[13][14]

Cheung married fellow Hong Kong entertainer Nicholas Tse in a secret wedding ceremony in the Philippines in September 2006.[22] She gave birth to their first son in August 2007[23] and their second son in May 2010.[24]

On 23 August 2011, the couple made a public announcement of an agreement to a divorce. They agreed to hold joint custody of their two sons.[25] Cecilia dated Singaporean lifestyle entrepreneur and restaurateur Earn Chen in 2014[26] and later the Chinese entertainment magnate Sun Donghai from 2015 onwards.[27]

In 1999, her triad member father, known as Bearded Bravery or Bearded Yung, got into a misunderstanding with a rival gang. As a result, Cheung received rape and death threats against her, when she was still relatively new in the film industry.[28]